Last night (3/10/19) we were Tasting White Wines w/ Blair:
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Dom.Zind Humbrecht Tokay PinotGris (ViellesVignes; 13%) Leonard et Olivier Humbrecht/Wintzenheim 1989: Med.
amber color; strong apple/peach/floral slight cedary/oldPG light earthy/dusty quite complex mature PG nose;
rather rich/lush lightly tart apple/peach/floral/PG slight earthy/dusty quite complex flavor w/ no signs
of oxidation; this wine was pretty lean/acid in its youth but as matured into a beautiful old PG and still
vibrant & alive.
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Clos du Papillon AC: Savennieres (13%; MeBalP; CheninBlanc) Dom.des Baumard/Rochefort sur Loire 1995: Light
gold color; beautiful complex/tobaccoy/old CB slight pear/floral quite complex nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic
slight earthy/tobaccoy/oldCB light pear/CB/floral very complex fairly dry flavor w/ no signs of oxidation or
drying out; still very much alive. $17.60 (K)
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Chateau des Fesles AC: Bonnezeaux (13.8%; MeBalP; CheninBlanc) J.Boivin/Thouarce 1989: Deep gold/amber color;
slight musty/earthy rather botrytis/peachy/CB rather cedary/oldCB/pungent quite complex nose; slightly off-dry
slight floral/pear/CB bit botrytis/peachy some cedary/pencilly/oldCB/light pungent fairly tart quite complex
flavor; maybe a bit tired and drying out but in wonderful shape for 30 yrs old. $23.00 (Hill, 6/91)
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Callaway CheninBlanc SweetNancy Temecula (Hrvstd Late; Slctd clusters w/ botrytis cinerea; 12.5%; 500 cs)
KarlWerner/CallawayVintners/Oakville 1973: Deep amber/browning color; bit herbal/floral/CB very strong
botrytis/CB apricotty some cedary quite complex nose; soft quite sweet slight herbal/earthy very strong
botrytis/peachy/apricotty slight cedary fairly complex flavor w/ very long/lingering very sweet finish;
still in wonderful shape w/ loads of botrytis but a bit simple compared to a sweet Loire CB. $13.19 (K)
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Maximilian v.Othegrave Weingut Kanzemer Berg Kanzemer Altenberg (Auslese; QmP; A.P.Nr. 3 518 034-5-77; 10%;
Fuder 5; EA) Kanzem/Saar 1976: Deep amber color; fairly strong old Auslese slight cedary bit earthy/dusty
somewhat complex slightly tired nose; near dry bit tart/tangy complex old Auslese very slight botrytis bit
tired fairly complex flavor; getting a bit tired & ragged about the edges, but still a very interesting
complex old Auslese; starting to fade into the twilight of its yrs. $9.30 (3/78)
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Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium Oberemmeler Scharzberg Riesling (Auslese; QmP; A.P.Nr. 3 561 024-29-77;
10%; EA) Trier 1976: Deep amber/brown color; very fragrant slight petrol slight botrytis/peachy beautiful
old Auslese rather complex nose; fairly tart slight metallic bit petrol near dry slight botrytis rather
complex old Auslese bit tired/drying flavor; a lovely complex old Auslese nose but starting to get a bit
tired on the palate.
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Stephanus Freiherr von Schorlemer Riesling (Auslese; QmP; A.P.Nr. 2 604 226/4/72; EA; 10%) Wintrich/Mosel 1971:
Deep amber/brown color; very complex old Auslese slight cedary/earthy slight botrytis lovely fragrant nose;
rather tart near dry lovely old Auslese bit tired slight earthy/cedary bit bitter complex flavor; a lovely
old Auslese nose but drying out and a bit tired on the palate; a survivor but just that.
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Reichsrat v. Buhl Forster Ungeheuer Riesling (Auslese; QmP; A.P.Nr. 5 106 044/7/77; 10%; EA)
Deidesheim/Rheinpfalz 1976: Deep amber/browning color; beautiful complex old Auslese some petrol slight
cedary/earthy nose; slightly off-dry quite complex old Auslese bit cedary/earthy/petrol fairly tart
beautiful flavor; more than just hanging in and a real pleasure to drink w/ some lushness and sweetness.
$7.90 (3/78)
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Staatlichen Weinbaudomanen Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling (Auslese; QmP; A.P.Nr. 1 750 053/42/77;
EA; 10%; Niederhausen/Schlossbockelheim/Nahe 1976: Deep amber slight murkey color; slight earthy/musty/dusty/
cedary some petrol slight botrytis/peachy quite complex old Auslese beautiful nose; quite tart slightly off dry
rather petroly slight earthy/cedary slight botrytis bit lush/honeyed lovely complex old Auslese flavor w/
trace of bitterness on the back palate; a lovely example of an old Auslese.
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WenteBros Riesling Auslese (Produced from slctd botrytis berries grown in Monterey vnyds; 11%) Livermore
1973: Rather brown color; very intense botrytis apricotty/peachy slight earthy/herbal some complex old BA
nose; bit soft quite sweet very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty bit earthy/herbal slight cedary flavor;
no signs of oxidation (other than the color) w/ loads of botrytis but a bit on the simple side w/ only
botrytis present. $7.00 (Wnry; 2/76)
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Chateau St.Jean JohannisbergRiesling RobertYoungVnyd/AlexVlly (10.3%; SaH: 28.7%; RS: 11.0%) Kenwood 1978:
Very dark brown/murky color; very intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy slight earthy/dusty nose; bit soft very
sweet very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty; looks ugle but tastes great; a very good old BA Riesling that
may go on forever; all about botrytis and doesn’t have the complexity you’d get in an old German BA.
$15.40 (Wnry, SF)
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Ch.Suduiraut AC: Sauternes (Ancien Cru du Roy; MeBaC) 1959: Dark brown color; some botrytis/apricotty/peachy
some Fr.oak/butterscotchy/caramel bit herbal/earthy fairly complex nose; bit off-dry strong Fr.oak/caramel/
butterscotch some botrytis/apricotty some dried out bit tart/austere flavor; not a great example of an old
Sauternes but quite interesting aromatics. $16.50 (8/78)
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JosephPhelpsVnyds Delice du Semillon NapaVlly (13.0%; RS: 10.3%; 4% SauvBlanc) St.Helena 1985: Deep amber color;
strong botrytis/apricotty/peachy bit honeyed slight herbal/earthy/dusty some caramel/Fr.oak quite complex nose;
bit soft strong botrytis/apricotty/peachy rather sweet some caramel/Fr.oak slight herbal/earthy/dusty slight
complex flavor; a bit on the simple side and dominated by botrytis; not much at all like an old Sauternes,
more like an old/mature Calif botrytis wine. $15.60 (K)
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Lomelino Madeira Verdelho (LPR or LPB; 19.5%) B&S for T.T.C.Lomelino by MadeiraWineCo for CortiBros/
Sacramento 1900: Med.amber/brown color; very strong coffee/Madeira bit alcoholic quite complex oldMadeira
nose; very acidic/tangy/metallic very strong coffee/Madeira rather dry quite complex flavor; very long/lingering
very acidic/tangy/metallic fairly dry/austere bit alcoholic/aldehydic very complex finish that goes on&on;
quite acidic & rather austere but a beautiful complex old Madeira. $20.00 (CBvBN)
More ertzslobber from TheBloodyPulpit:
- Madeira 1900: This was a contribution from SueNoel from Bruce’s cellar. He would have bought this from Darrell
back in the mid-'70’s. The $20 price tag was from RickMinderman’s recollection. The wine was a beautiful old
Madeira that you just wanted to sit there and smell all night long, though somewhat austere & acidic on the palate
to taste by itself. The painted label on the front indicated LPR or LPB. Not sure what that signifies.
- These were a selection of white wines pulled from BlairSwartz’s cellar by me. I selected them based on some we had
previously tasted and ones I thought had a chance of being survivors, if not much better. They were donated to
this tasting by his daughter Stacey. We held this at Pig+Fig Cafe, where Laura provided a wonderful selection of appetizers.
By & large, the wines ranged from survivors to absolutely beautiful. These were all shared by a select group of
Blair’s long-time friends. The TN’s are a bit sparse because of all the chin-wagging going on.
- SweetNancy: This wine is a real rarity. EliCallaway was a real pioneer when he decided to plant in Temecula, a
totally unknown growing area. He would probably be apalled by what it is now. He hired KarlWerner as his winemaker,
who used German oak for his wines. Chard/CheninBlanc/PetiteSirah/Zin/Cabernet. All were very good, rather big/
extracted. TerryClancey followed Karl as winemaker and, after Eli sold Callaway, it went into a steep decline as
it expanded production.
He made a tiny amount of botrytis CB, SweetNancy, that he named after his wife. This was their first production
and made up in Oakville before the wnry was completed down in Temecula.
- Wente: In 1972, Wente made their first botrytis R from their ArroyoSecco vnyd that they labeled a Spatlese. In this
1973, they let the botrytis take a stronger set to make a BA-level R that they called Auslese. They made a few more
after that but gave up on the genre as being to unique/great a wine for their portfolio. I fully expected this wine
to still be going strong, even at 45 yrs of age.
- Germans: By and large, all the German Ausleses were more than just survivors. They all had beautiful complex old
Auslese noses that were quite fragrant and a pleasure to smell. The first three were showing a bit tired on the
palate and starting to dry out and showing a bit of bitterness. But the last two were lovely examples of the
beauty of complex old German Auslese, though starting to dry out a bit and not going to get any better. The
glories of old German Ausleses are amazing.
Tom
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